Microsoft Windows Kernel Exception Handler Vulnerability

CheckOps priority index

5.8/10 Patch within 7 days

Severity7.8

Probability2.9

Exploitation3/5

Severity = CVSS. Probability = EPSS (FIRST). Exploitation = public signals: KEV, EUVD, ransomware, EPSS above 10 %, no account required.

EPSS · today 28.7% higher than 98.1% of CVEs

CVSS 3.1 7.8 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:

Exploited for 1,707 days 03 Mar 2022

CISA due date 24 Mar 2022 for US federal agencies

Exploitation probability EPSS · FIRST

EPSS probability (%)Percentile among all CVEs

Exploitation signals 3 / 5

KEV catalog (CISA)03 Mar 2022
Exploited in EUVD (ENISA)03 Mar 2022
Used by ransomwareno
EPSS above 10 %28.7%
No account, over the networkno

What to do

Fix

Apply the vendor’s fix as soon as it is available.

CISA guidance: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Meanwhile

Take the service off the internet or restrict access to it, watch the logs and look for signs of compromise.

Manufacturers (CRA)

Exploited vulnerability in your product: early warning to ENISA within 24 h, then notification within 72 h (Article 14 of the Cyber Resilience Act). The CRA explained

Description ENISA EUVD

The kernel in Microsoft Windows NT 3.1 through Windows 7, including Windows 2000 SP4, Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista Gold, SP1, and SP2, and Windows Server 2008 Gold and SP2, when access to 16-bit applications is enabled on a 32-bit x86 platform, does not properly validate certain BIOS calls, which allows local users to gain privileges by crafting a VDM_TIB data structure in the Thread Environment Block (TEB), and then calling the NtVdmControl function to start the Windows Virtual DOS Machine (aka NTVDM) subsystem, leading to improperly handled exceptions involving the #GP trap handler (nt!KiTrap0D), aka "Windows Kernel Exception Handler Vulnerability."

Affected products

Windows

Weaknesses (CWE)

CWE-264

Open source packages OSV

Affected libraries according to OSV, with fixed versions.

Timeline

21 Jan 2010
Published
03 Mar 2022
Exploitation reported (ENISA)
03 Mar 2022
Added to the KEV catalog
24 Mar 2022
CISA remediation due date
26 Sept 2026
EPSS peak: 28.7%

References

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